Processing method of providing subscriber use equipment location information to request side

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a handling method for providing a client with the location estimate of a target UE. In the handling process of a requestor originating a LCS location request against a target UE to the LCS system and request the LCS system to provide the location estimate of the target UE to an external client, when the LCS system sends a location estimate of target UE to the client, the client returns to the LCS system an acknowledgement on whether the target UE location information can be handled successfully or not. In this way, the LCS system is able to learn the final handling result of the location service; furthermore, the LCS system returns to the requestor an acknowledgement on whether the location estimate of the target UE can be handled successfully or not by the client such that the requestor is able to learn an accurate final handling result of the location service. In addition, there are two handling modes are presented by this invention, which can be used separately or in a combined way in actual implementation, bringing more flexible options.

FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY

The present invention relates to location techniques, particularly to ahandling method for providing a client with the location estimate of atarget user equipment (UE).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The location service (LCS) of a mobile communications network is toobtain the location estimate of target UE by means of a locationtechnique, where the target UE refers to a user terminal being locatedin a mobile communications network and the location information may bethe geographical information expressed in latitude and longitude data orthe location information with reference to local streets. The locationinformation obtained by an LCS system may be provided for the target UEfor use in self-location, for the communications system itself for usein area-specific billing or operational maintenance, or for otherclients, for instance, agencies or individuals, requesting the locationestimate of the target UE for use in value-added services. Therefore,location service has wide applications in such fields as emergencyrescue, vehicle navigation and intelligent traffic system, job controland team management, mobile yellow page query, and enhanced networkperformance. In 3GPP, specifications of LCS as well as the operationalmode, structure, state description, and message flow for LCSimplementation have been described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic showing the logical structure for implementingLCS. As shown in FIG. 1, Client 101 requests Network 102 containing anLCS system for the location estimate of Target UE 103. Network 102containing an LCS system makes legitimate authentication of Client 101to check whether Target UE 103 permits Client 101 to request itslocation information. If Client 101 passes the legitimate authenticationof Network 102 containing an LCS system, Network 102 will locate TargetUE 103 and provide Client 101 with the location estimate of Target UE103; otherwise, Network 102 containing an LCS system will refuse toprovide Client 101 with the location estimate of Target UE 103.Functions implementing location service in an LCS system include gatewaymobile location center (GMLC), home location register/home subscriberserver (HLR/HSS), core network (CN), and radio access network (RAN).

So far, the process of handling a Mobile Original Location Request(MO-LR) has been defined in the 3GPP specifications. The handling of aMO-LR comprises a target UE requesting its own location information froman LCS system, the LCS system locating the target UE before returningthe locating result to the target UE. Furthermore, at request of atarget UE, the LCS system may provide the location estimate of thetarget UE for an external client. The client herein refers to LCSclients or other application clients that are able to handle thelocation estimate of a target UE rather than a client that requests thelocation estimate of a target UE in the usual sense.

FIG. 2 is the flowchart for handling a MO-LR in the prior art. As shownin FIG. 2, the handling process of a MO-LR comprises the steps of:

Step 201: A target UE sends a service request to CN via RAN, asking toestablish a radio signaling connection with the network containing anLCS system. Then the network containing an LCS system may initiate aprocess of authentication and ciphering for the target UE. If the targetUE passes the authentication of the network containing an LCS system,continue with step 202; otherwise, the network containing an LCS systemwill reject the service request from the target UE for establishing aconnection of radio signaling and end the handling process of thecurrent MO-LR.

Steps 202 to 205: The target UE sends a MO-LR to CN via RAN, requestingCN to locate the target UE. This MO-LR may further carry the informationof an external client, requesting to provide the obtained locationestimate of the target UE for this client. After receiving the MO-LR, CNsends to RAN a location request carrying the identity of the target UE.After receiving the location request, RAN will locate the target UE, andthen return a location report of the target UE to CN. If RAN succeeds inlocating the target UE, that is, it is able to acquire the locationestimate of the target UE, then this location report will carry thelocation estimate of the target UE; otherwise, this location report oftarget UE will carry a value of error cause.

Step 206: After receiving the location report carrying the locationestimate of the target UE and finding that the target UE requests forproviding the location information thereof for an external client, CNsends the Subscriber location report carrying the location estimate ofthe target UE and the information of the client to an appropriate GMLC.Wherein the subscriber corresponds to the target UE.

Step 207: After receiving the location report of the target UE, the GMLCdecides whether it is able to access the client. If the GMLC is able toaccess the client, it will send to CN the Subscriber Location ReportAcknowledgement indicating that the client can be accessed successfully.Then perform step 208; otherwise, the Subscriber location reportacknowledge indicating that the appropriate client cannot be accessedwill be sent to CN.

Step 208: The GMLC, after sending the Location Report Acknowledgement toCN, sends to the client the location information carrying the locationestimate of the target UE, providing the client with the locationestimate of the target UE.

If the target UE does not request CN to provide the location informationfor an external client or CN receives a target UE location reportcarrying an error cause value, Steps 206-208 may be omitted.

Step 209: If RAN succeeds in locating the target UE, that is, CNreceives a target UE location report carrying the location estimate ofthe target UE, a MO-LR Result carrying the location estimate of thetarget UE will be sent to the target UE; if CN finds, when receiving thetarget UE location report carrying the location estimate of the targetUE, that the target UE requests CN to provide the location estimate ofthe target UE for an external client, CN will, after receiving theSubscriber Location Report Acknowledgement sent by GMLC, send a MO-LRResult to the target UE. This MO-LR Result will carry not only thetarget UE location information but also the information notifying thetarget UE that the location information thereof has been successfullysent to the designated client. This notifying information is obtained byCN based on the Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgement returned byGMLC in step 207 indicating that the external client can be successfullyaccessed. If RAN fails to locate the target UE, that is, CN receives atarget UE location report carrying an error cause value, a MO-LR Resultcarrying the error cause value will then be sent to the target UE.

As can be seen from the above description of the 3GPP definition on thehandling process by an LCS system of a MO-LR initiated by a target UE,when a target UE requests a network containing an LCS system for its ownlocation information and requests the network containing an LCS systemto provide the location estimate of the target UE for an externalclient, CN will notify the target UE that its location information hasbeen correctly provided for the client after CN learned that GMLC isable to access the external client successfully. At this time, if theinformation about the client provided for CN is incorrect due to anerror of the target UE, for instance, the client designated by thetarget UE does not support the handling of location service or has notstored the relevant data of the target UE, then CN will still notify thetarget UE that its location information has been successfully receivedeven that the client fails to process the location estimate of thetarget UE. As a result, the target UE can not be notified about theactual situation of whether the client is able to process the locationestimate of the UE, thus neither the LCS system nor the target UE isable to learn accurately the final result of the implementation of thelocation service.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the above, the object of the present invention is to providea handling method for providing a client with the location estimate of atarget UE such that the LCS system is able to learn an accurate finalresult of the implementation of location service, and so is the targetUE.

To achieve the above object, this invention presents a handling methodfor providing a client with the location estimate of a target UE, themethod comprising the steps of:

A. The LCS (location service) system sending to the client the LocationInformation message carrying the location estimate of the target UE.

B. The client, handling the location estimate of the target UE, andsending to the LCS system Location Information Acknowledgement with ahandling result.

Before the step A the method further comprises before the step A: arequestor originating a LCS location request against a target UE to theLCS system and requesting the LCS system to provide the locationestimate of the target UE to a client, and a location estimate of thetarget UE was successfully obtained by the LCS system.

After the step B the method further comprises:

C. the LCS system, after receiving the Location InformationAcknowledgement with the handling result, sending to the requestor anLCS Location Response carrying the handling result.

Wherein the step C further comprises the steps of:

C1 . After receiving the Location Information Acknowledgement with thehandling result, GMLC (gateway mobile location center) in the LCS systemsending to CN (Core Network) in the LCS system a Subscriber LocationReport Acknowledgment, which carrying the handling result;

C2. After receiving the Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgment, theCN sending to the requestor an LCS Location Response carrying thehandling result.

Wherein the step A comprises the GMLC in the LCS system sending to theclient a Location Information message carrying the location estimate ofthe target UE; and

the step B comprises the client, after receiving the LocationInformation message, handling the location estimate of the target UE,and then sending to the GMLC the Location Information Acknowledgementcarrying the handling result.

Before the step B the method further comprises: GMLC in the LCS systemsending to the CN in the LCS system the Subscriber Location ReportAcknowledgement.

Before the step B the method further comprises: the LCS system sendingto the requestor the LCS Location Response.

Wherein the handling result comprises a success flag indicating that thelocation estimate has been handled successfully by the client.

Wherein the handling result of the client comprises a failure flagindicating that the location estimate has been handled unsuccessfully bythe client.

Wherein the handling result comprises further the error cause.

Wherein the requestor comprises the target UE being located or athird-party device other than the target UE.

Wherein the CN comprises MSC (Mobile Switch Center)/MSC Server or SGSN(Serving GPRS Support Node, GPRS General Packet Radio Service).

Wherein the client comprises an LCS Client.

In accordance with the method provided by this invention, when anrequester requests the location estimate of a target UE and asks the LCSsystem to provide an external client with the location estimate of thetarget UE, a mechanism for the client to return to the LCS system anacknowledgement on whether the target UE location information can behandled is added after the LCS system sends to the client the locationestimate of the target UE. In this way, the LCS system is able to learnthe final performing result of the location service; furthermore, theLCS system returns to the requestor an acknowledgement about whether theclient is able to handle the location estimate of the target UE suchthat the requestor is able to learn an accurate final performing resultof the location service. In addition, two handling modes are presentedby this invention, which can be used separately or in a combined way inpractical applications, bringing not only better implementing resultsbut also more flexible options.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the logical structure of LCSimplementation;

FIG. 2 is the flowchart for handling a MO-LR in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is the flowchart of a handling mode in accordance with thisinvention for a MO-LR carrying the information of a client;

FIG. 4 is the flowchart of another handling mode in accordance with thisinvention for a MO-LR carrying the information of a client;

FIG. 5 is the flowchart of an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 6 is the flowchart of another embodiment of this invention.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

This invention is hereinafter described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

In accordance with this invention, when an requestor requests thelocation estimate of a target UE and asks the LCS system to provide anexternal client with the location estimate of the target UE, a mechanismfor the client to return to GMLC an acknowledgement on whether thetarget UE location information can be handled is added after GMLC sendsto the client the location estimate of the target UE such that GMLC isable to return to CN the acknowledgement on whether the client is ableto handle the location estimate of the target UE, and furthermore, CN isable to return to the requestor an acknowledgement about whether theclient is able to handle the location estimate of the target UEsuccessfully, making the requestor able to learn an accurate finalperforming result of the location service. The requester comprises thetarget UE itself or a third-party device other than the target UE andthe client.

FIG. 3 is the flowchart of a handling mode in accordance with thisinvention for a MO-LR carrying the information of a client. As shown inFIG. 3, a handling process for a MO-LR carrying the information of aclient comprises the steps of:

Steps 301-308 are primarily the same as steps 201-208.

Step 309: After receiving the Location Information message, the clientreturns to GMLC Location Information Acknowledgement, which carries anappropriate flag indicating whether the client is able to handle thetarget UE location information successfully. For instance, if the clientis able to handle the target UE location information successfully, theLocation Information Acknowledgement will carry the flag of successfulhandling; otherwise, the Location Information Acknowledgement will carrythe flag of failed handling. Furthermore, when the client is able tohandle the target UE location information successfully, the LocationInformation Acknowledgement may carry no parameter; when the client isunable to handle the target UE location information successfully, theLocation Information Acknowledgement may as well carry the appropriatecause of failure, for example, the cause may be that the client does notsupport handling of location service or has not found the appropriateuser data of the target UE.

Step 310: After receiving the Location Information Acknowledgement, GMLCreturns to CN an appropriate Client Handle Result message depending onthe flag carried in the Location Information Acknowledgement indicatingwhether the client is able to handle the target UE location informationsuccessfully. This Client Handle Result message may also carry anappropriate flag, if GMLC receives the Location InformationAcknowledgement indicating that the client is able to handle the targetUE location information successfully, GMLC will then return to CN aClient Handle Result message carrying the flag of success, notifying CNthat the client is able to handle the target UE location information; ifGMLC receives the target UE Location Information Acknowledgementindicating that the client is unable to handle the target UE locationinformation successfully, GMLC will then return to CN a Client HandleResult message carrying the flag of failure, notifying CN that theclient is unable to handle the target UE location informationsuccessfully. In addition, when the client is able to handle the targetUE location information successfully, the Client Handle Result messagemay carry no parameter; when the client is unable to handle the targetUE location information successfully, the Client Handle Result messagemay carry an appropriate cause of failure, for instance, the client doesnot support handling of location service.

Step 311: If RAN succeeds in locating the target UE, that is, CNreceives Location Report carrying the target UE location information instep 305, CN will at this time receive a Client Handle Result message.In accordance with the flag in this Client Handle Result messageindicating whether the client is able to handle the locationinformation, CN returns to the target LIE an appropriate LCS MO-LRResult. This LCS MO-LR Result may carry an appropriate flag, if CNreceives the Client Handle Result indicating that the client is able tohandle the target UE location information, CN will then return to thetarget UE the LCS MO-LR Result carrying the flag of success, notifyingthe target UE that the client is able to handle the location informationsuccessfully and has accept the information at the same time ofproviding the target UE with its own location information; if CNreceives the Client Handle Result indicating that the client is unableto handle the target UE location information successfully, CN will thenreturn to the target UE the LCS MO-LR Result carrying the flag offailure, notifying the target UE that the client is unable to handle thelocation information successfully at the same time of providing thetarget UE with its own location information. In addition, when theclient is able to handle the target UE location informationsuccessfully, the LCS MO-LR Result may carry only the target UE locationinformation; when the client is unable to handle the target UE locationinformation successfully, the LCS MO-LR Result may also carry theappropriate cause of failure, for instance, the client does not supporthandling of location service. As can be seen herein, by carrying anappropriate flag in the LCS MO-LR Result that is returned to the targetUE, the target UE is able to learn a clear final performing result ofthe location service.

By adding the steps of the client returning to GMLC the target UELocation Information Acknowledgement and GMLC returning to CN the ClientHandle Result, the above described handling process for a MO-LR carryingthe information of a client enables each of the functions of the LCSsystem to learn an accurate final performing result of the locationservice while having less impact on the former handling process for aMO-LR carrying the information of a client.

FIG. 4 is the flowchart of another handling mode in accordance with thisinvention for a MO-LR carrying the information of a client. As shown inFIG. 4, another handling process for a MO-LR carrying the information ofa client comprises the steps of:

Steps 401-406 are primarily the same as steps 201-206.

Step 407: After receiving the Subscriber Location Report sent by CN,GMLC sends to the client the Location Information message carrying thetarget UE location information, providing the client with the target UElocation information.

Step 408 is primarily the same as step 309.

Step 409: After receiving the Location Information Acknowledgement, GMLCreturns to CN an appropriate Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgementin accordance with the flag in the Location Information Acknowledgementindicating whether the client is able to handle the target UE locationinformation successfully. This Subscriber Location ReportAcknowledgement may carry an appropriate flag, if GMLC receives theLocation Information Acknowledgement indicating that the client is ableto handle the target UE location information successfully, GMLC willthen return to CN Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgement carryingthe flag of successful handling, notifying CN that the client is able tohandle the target UE location information successfully; if GMLC receivesthe Location Information Acknowledgement indicating that the client isunable to handle the target UE location information successfully, GMLCwill then return to CN the Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgementcarrying the flag of failed handling, notifying CN that the client isunable to handle the target UE location information successfully.Furthermore, when the client is able to handle the target UE locationinformation successfully, the Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgementmay carry no parameter; when the client is unable to handle the targetUE location information successfully, the Subscriber Location ReportAcknowledgement may as well carry the appropriate cause of failure, forexample, the cause may be that the client does not support handling oflocation service.

Step 410: If RAN succeeds in locating the target UE, that is, CNreceives in step 405 the Location Report carrying the target UE locationinformation, CN will at this time receive a Subscriber Location ReportAcknowledgement. In accordance with the flag in this Location ReportAcknowledgement indicating whether the client is able to handle thetarget UE location information, CN returns to the target UE anappropriate LCS MO-LR Result. This LCS MO-LR Result may carry anappropriate flag, if CN receives the Subscriber Location ReportAcknowledgement indicating that the client is able to handle the targetUE location information, CN will then return to the target UE the LCSMO-LR Result carrying the flag of success, notifying the target UE thatthe client is able to handle the location information successfully andhas accept the information at the same time of providing the target UEwith its own location information; if CN receives the SubscriberLocation Report Acknowledgement indicating that the client is unable tohandle the target UE location information successfully, CN will thenreturn to the target UE the LCS MO-LR Result carrying the flag offailure, notifying the target UE that the client is unable to handle thelocation information successfully at the same time of providing thetarget UE with its own location information. In addition, when theclient is able to handle the target UE location informationsuccessfully, the LCS MO-LR Result may carry only the target UE locationinformation; when the client is unable to handle the target UE locationinformation successfully, the LCS MO-LR Result may also carry theappropriate cause of failure, for instance, the client does not supporthandling of location service. As can be seen herein, by carrying anappropriate flag in the LCS MO-LR Result that is returned to the targetUE, the target UE is able to learn a definite final performing result ofthe location service.

In the above described handling process for a MO-LR carrying theinformation of a client, a step of the client returning to GMLC theLocation Information Acknowledgement is added. And GMLC returns to CNthe Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgement after receiving theLocation Information Acknowledgement returned by the client, thusutilizing the message in the former handling process for a MO-LRcarrying the information of a client and accordingly, reducing thenumber of interactive messages.

The above two handling modes for a MO-LR carrying the information of aclient may be combined with each other. GMLC decides whether theexternal client can be accessed, if yes, GMLC will first send to CN aSubscriber Location Report Acknowledgement carrying the flag ofsuccessful access, then send to CN the appropriate Client Handle Resultmessage after receiving the handling result of the target UE locationinformation returned by the client; if not, GMLC will return theSubscriber Location Report Acknowledgement carrying the flag of failedaccess directly to CN.

FIG. 5 is the flowchart of an embodiment of this invention. As shown inFIG. 5, in this embodiment, the handling process for a CS_MO_LR (CircuitSwitched Mobile Original Location Request) Invoke carrying theinformation of a client comprises the steps of:

Steps 501-503: A target UE sends to RAN a CM (call management) ServiceRequest, asking to establish a radio signaling connection with thenetwork. After receiving the CM Service Request, RAN forwards the CMService Request to the Mobile Switching Center (MSC)/MSC Server. Afterreceiving the CM Service Request, MSC/MSC Server makes interaction withthe target UE and performs authentication and ciphering of the targetUE. If the target UE passes the authentication, MSC/IMSC Server willnotify the target UE that the CM Service Request initiated by the UE hasbeen accepted; otherwise, MSC/MSC Server will notify the target UE thatthe CM Service Request initiated by the UE is rejected.

Steps 504-507: After passing the authentication by MSC/MSC Server, thetarget UE sends to MSC/MSC Server an LCS CS_MO_LR Invoke, requesting thenetwork containing an LCS system to locate the UE. The LCS CS_MO_LRInvoke may also carry the information of an external client, requestingMSC/MSC Server to provide the target UE location information for thecorresponding external client. After receiving the LCS CS_MO_LR Invoke,MSC/MSC Server sends to RAN a Location Request for the target UE. Afterreceiving the Location Request and succeeding in locating the target UE,RAN sends to MSC/MSC Server a Location Report of the target UE carryingthe location estimate of the target UE.

Steps 508-509: After receiving the Location Report, MSC/MSC Server sendsto GMLC a Subscriber Location Report carrying the location estimate ofthe target UE and the information of an external client after findingthat the target UE requests to provide the external client with thelocation estimate of the target UE. After receiving the SubscriberLocation Report and deciding that the external client can be accessed,GMLC sends to MSC/MSC Server a Subscriber Location ReportAcknowledgement indicating that the external client can be accessed.

Steps 510-511: After sending to MSC/MSC Server the Subscriber LocationReport Acknowledgement, GMLC sends to the client the LocationInformation carrying the location estimate of the target UE. Afterreceiving the Location Information, the client will return to GMLC aLocation Information Acknowledgement carrying the cause for failure ifit is unable to handle the location estimate of the target UE because itdoes not support the location service or it has no subscriber data ofthat target UE.

Steps 512-514: After receiving the Location Information Acknowledgement,GMLC returns to MSC/MSC Server an LCS Client Handle Result carrying thecause for failure, notifying MSC/MSC Server that the client is unable tohandle the location estimate of the target UE. After receiving the LCSClient Handle Result, MSC/MSC Server returns to the target UE an LCSCS_MO_LR Result, which will carry the target UE location information andfurther, the cause for failure so as to notify the target UE that theexternal client is unable to handle the location informationsuccessfully. MSC/MSC Server then ends the handling of the currentCS_MO_Invoke carrying the information of the client and releases the LCSsystem resources occupied.

FIG. 6 is the flowchart of another embodiment of this invention. Asshown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, the handling process for a PS_MO_LR(Packet Switched Mobile Original Location Request) Invoke carrying theinformation of a client comprises the steps of:

Steps 601-602: A target UE sends to Service GPRS Supporting Node (SGSN)a CM Service Request, asking to establish a radio signaling connectionwith the network. After establishing a Packet Switched signalingconnection with the network, the target UE sends to SGSN an LCS PS_MO_LRInvoke, requesting the network containing an LCS system to locate theUE. The LCS CS_MO_LR Invoke may also carry the information of anexternal client, requesting SGSN to provide the target UE locationinformation for the corresponding external client.

Steps 603-605: After receiving the LCS PS_MO_LR Invoke, SGSN sends toRAN a Location Request for the target UE. After receiving the LocationRequest and succeeding in locating the target UE, RAN sends to SGSN aLocation Report of the target UE carrying the location estimate of thetarget UE.

Step 606: After receiving the Location Report, SGSN sends to GMLC aSubscriber Location Report carrying the location estimate of the targetUE and the information of an external client after finding that thetarget UE requests to provide the external client with the locationestimate of the target UE.

Steps 607-608: After receiving the Subscriber Location Report, GMLCsends to the external client the Location Information message carryingthe location estimate of the target UE. After receiving the LocationInformation, the client will handle the location estimate of the targetUE and return to GMLC a Location Information Acknowledgement carryingthe success flag if it is able to handle the target UE locationinformation successfully.

Steps 609-610: After receiving the Location Information Acknowledgement,GMLC returns to SGSN a Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgementcarrying the success flag, notifying SGSN that the client is able tohandle the location estimate of the target UE. After receiving theSubscriber Location Report Acknowledgement, SGSN returns to the targetUE an LCS PS_MO_LR Result, which will carry the target UE locationinformation and further, the success flag to notify the target UE thatthe external client is able to handle the location informationsuccessfully. SGSN then ends the handling of the current PS_MO_LR Invokecarrying the information of the client.

The LCS system may also send to the target UE the location estimate ofthe target UE before receiving the handling result of the client; thenreturn to the target UE the handling result of the client after theresult is received.

The above solution scheme is equally applicable to the situation wherethe location of a target UE is initiated by a third-party device whichat the same time requests to provide the target UE location informationfor a client. As the specific implementing process is primarily thesame, no further description will be given.

It is appreciated that the above description is about preferredembodiments of this invention and therefore not to be construed aslimits to the protection scope thereof.

1. A handing method for providing a client with the location estimate of a target User Equipment (UE), the method comprising the steps of: A. The LCS (location service) system sending to the client the Location Information message carrying the location estimate of the target UE; B. The client, handling the location estimate of the target UE, and sending to the LCS system Location Information Acknowledgement with a handling result.
 2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising before the step A: a requestor originating a LCS location request against a target UE to the LCS system and requesting the LCS system to provide the location estimate of the target UE to a client, and a location estimate of the target UE was successfully obtained by the LCS system.
 3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising after the step B: C. the LCS system, after receiving the Location Information Acknowledgement with the handling result, sending to the requestor an LCS Location Response carrying the handling result.
 4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the step C further comprises the steps of: C1. After receiving the Location Information Acknowledgement with the handling result, GMLC (gateway mobile location center) in the LCS system sending to CN (Core Network) in the LCS system a Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgment, which carrying the handling result; C2. After receiving the Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgment, the CN sending to the requestor an LCS Location Response carrying the handling result.
 5. A method according to claim 1, wherein the step A comprises the GMLC in the LCS system sending to the client a Location Information message carrying the location estimate of the target UE; and the step B comprises the client, after receiving the Location Information message, handling the location estimate of the target UE, and then sending to the GMLC the Location Information Acknowledgement carrying the handling result.
 6. A method according to claim 5, further comprising before the step B: GMLC in the LCS system sending to the CN in the LCS system the Subscriber Location Report Acknowledgement.
 7. A method according to claim 1, further comprising before the step B: the LCS system sending to the requestor the LCS Location Response.
 8. A method according to claim 1, wherein the handling result comprises a success flag indicating that the location estimate has been handled successfully by the client.
 9. A method according to claim 1, wherein the handling result of the client comprises a failure flag indicating that the location estimate has been handled unsuccessfully by the client.
 10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the handling result comprises further the error cause.
 11. A method according to claim 1, wherein the requestor comprises the target UE being located or a third-party device other than the target UE.
 12. A method according to claim 4, wherein the CN comprises MSC (Mobile Switch Center)/MSC Server or SGSN (Serving GPRS Support Node, GPRS General Packet Radio Service).
 13. A method according to claim 1, wherein the client comprises an LCS Client.
 14. A method according to claim 2, further comprising after the step B: C. the LCS system, after receiving the Location Information Acknowledgement with the handling result, sending to the requestor an LCS Location Response carrying the handling result.
 15. A method according to claim 5, further comprising before the step B: the LCS system sending to the requester the LCS Location Response. 